Autism and Asperger's are two different disorders that belong to a group of childhood problems called Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Asperger's is considered by many people to be on the autism spectrum. Some people think of Asperger's as a mild form of autism.

The biggest difference between Autism and Asperger's is that autistic people suffer from serious communication problems. Some people with Asperger's can communicate quite well; but it is their lack of well-formed social skills that cause them problems. This chart, based on diagnostic criteria used by professionals, breaks down the basic differences between the two groups.

SOCIAL SKILLS

Displays a least TWO characteristics:

Poor use of nonverbal behaviors, such as eye contact, facial expressions, body postures, and gestures

Doesn't make friends

Won't engage socially with other people on their own, such as talking about common interests

Doesn't show an understanding of other people's emotions. Or, doesn't engage in typical social give-and-take, such as saying, "Hello. How are you?" or to tell a joke

Displays a least TWO characteristics:

Poor use of multiple nonverbal behaviors, such as eye contact, facial expressions, body postures, and gestures normally used when interacting with someone
Doesn't make friends

Won't engage socially with other people on their own, such as talking about common interests

Doesn't respond socially or share in another person's emotions

COMMUNICATION

Displays a least ONE characteristic:

Delay or lack of spoken language skills

Difficulty with starting a conversation or keeping one going

Repeating certain phrases over and over again

Doesn't usually begin to play on their own or play make-believe games. They don't understand ideas unless they are concrete and visible in real life.

NO significant delay in language development.

BEHAVIOR SKILLS

Displays a least ONE characteristic:

An intense interest in an unusual topic, such as deep fat fryers.

Preoccupation with parts of an object

Extreme and inflexible need to follow routines and/or rituals

Repeating motor patterns, such as hand flapping

Displays a least ONE characteristic:

An intense interest in an unusual topic, such as deep fat fryers.

Preoccupation with parts of an object

Extreme and inflexible need to follow routines and/or rituals that do not necessarily serve a purpose

Repeating motor patterns, such as hand flapping

COGNITIVE ABILITY

Assessing intelligence in a person with autism is extremely difficulty. Traditional IQ tests require a person to have basic communication skills and to be able to interact socially with the tester. Due to the highly verbal nature of most IQ tests, most autistic children tend to score less than 80 on an IQ test.

It should be noted that researchers have seen autistic children tested with a nonverbal IQ test achieve higher than normal IQ scores. Nonverbal IQ tests allow a person to point at answers, rather than speak directly to a tester. A high IQ obtained from a nonverbal IQ test for an autistic child can be seen as a more valid measure of intelligence than a high IQ score from a traditional IQ test.